^Ministry  for  Chi 


THIS  brief  sketch  is  written  to  com¬ 
memorate  the  completion  of  twenty- 
five  years  of  service  on  the  part  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  Porto  Rico.  It  is 
also  a  tribute  to  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  P. 
Barrett,  who  began  the  work  and  still 
continue  at  their  post  on  the  field.  May 
the  reading  of  these  pages  quicken  our 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  our  island 
neighbors. 


Wilson  P.  Minton. 


Ministry  for  Christ  in  Porto  Rico 

January  1901 — January  1926 


I. 

“RICH  PORT” 


PORTO  RICO,  “Rich  Port,”  is  an  island  one  hundred  twenty  miles  long 
and  thirty-five  miles  wide,  beautiful  beyond  description  in  its  natural 
setting,  with  its  great  backbone  of  mountains  fringed  all  the  way  round 
by  a  narrow  strip  of  lowlands  slipping  into  the  Atlantic  on  the  north,  east  and 
west,  and  into  the  Caribbean  on  the  south.  In  this  scenic  wonderland  of  natural 
beauty  one  may  revel  in  the  mountains  and  valleys,  the  rivers  and  the  rills,  the 
blue  sky  and  the  bluer  seas,  the  green  grass  and  golden  harvest,  the  fruits 
and  flowers,  and  the  sunshine  mingled  with  showers.  Here,  it  would  seem, 
there  is  everything  to  make  life  really  worth  while.  And  here  there  are 
1,300,000  souls  to  enjoy  it  to  the  full,  but  they  do  not  enjoy  it.  Life  seems  to 
be  teeming — 310  people  to  the  square  mile — but  there  is  terrible  lack  of  ful¬ 
ness  of  life.  Jesus  said,  “I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life  and  that  they 
might  have  it  more  abundantly;”  and  again  he  said,  “This  is  life  eternal,  that 
they  might  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast 
sent.”  But  he  has  not  yet  fully  come  to  Porto  Rico. 

Only  five  years  ago  one*  who  has  spent  years  in  missionary  work  on  the 
island  wrote  that  sixty-six  percent  of  the  Porto  Ricans  were  still  illiterate 
after  twenty-two  years  of  American  control.  Only  forty-one  percent  of  the 
children  of  school  age  were  actually  in  school  and  even  the  forty-one  percent 
in  many,  many  cases  were  going  under  terribly  crowded  conditions.  Yet  the 
Porto  Rican  is  eager  to  learn  and  he  is  capable,  as  we  of  the  Christian  Church 
have  evidence  in  the  boys  who  have  studied  in  our  colleges. 

This  same  writer  only  five  years  ago  stated  that  ninety  percent  of  the 
Porto  Ricans  have  hook-worm  and  usually  malaria  also,  due  to  the  lowlands,  the 
hot  tropical  climate,  unsanitary  conditions  and  the  ever-present  mosquito.  The 
death  rate  is  twice  as  high  as  that  in  continental  United  States.  Half  of  the 
deaths  occur  among  children  under  five,  which  is  higher  than  the  infant  mor¬ 
tality  in  India.  Three  out  of  five,  we  are  told,  die  without  having  had  a 
chance  for  relief  by  medical  attendance.  Of  course  the  past  five  years  have 
seen  some  improvement  in  these  conditions  but  there  is  still  a  long,  long  way 
to  go  before  this  situation  can  be  materially  changed. 

Not  only  is  there  lack  of  fulness  in  the  mental  and  physical  life,  but  in 
the  economic  and  social  life  as  well.  Poverty  abounds.  The  class  system  is 
terrible.  It  is  said  that  fifteen  percent  of  the  population  holds  all  the  wealth 


♦Arthur  Janies,  In  Twenty  Years  in  Porto  Rico. 


Three 


of  trie  island.  The  balance  eke  out  a  living  as  best  they  can.  Eighty  percent 
of  the  people  live  in  the  country  and  many  almost  literally  hang  on  to  the 
mountains  in  the  effort  to  cultivate  small  patches  of  land.  Tobacco,  coffee, 
cane,  rice,  beans  and  tropical  fruits  are  the  main  crops.  There  are  very  few 
good  cows.  Chickens  and  pigs  are  scrawny.  The  goat  alone  is  monarch  of  all 
he  surveys.  Men  in  the  cane  fields  and  girls  in  the  fruit  packing-houses  re¬ 
ceive  pitifully  small 
wages.  The  only  salva¬ 
tion  of  the  people  eco¬ 
nomically  seems  to  be 
the  abundance  of  fruit. 

These  economic  con¬ 
ditions  lower  the  ideals. 
Sixty  percent  of  the 
people  are  white,  thirty- 
five  percent  mulatto, 
and  five  percent  black. 
There  is  little  public 
opinion  against  immor¬ 
ality  for  which  situa¬ 
tion  the  priesthood 
seems  to  be  largely  re¬ 
sponsible.  It  is  said 
that  over  100,000  couples  are  living  together  in  Porto  Rico  without  civil  or 
religious  sanction.  Children  of  separated  couples  have  to  shift  for  themselves. 

The  lack  of  fulness  in  the  mental,  the  physical,  the  economic  and  the 
social  life  has  aggravated  the  lack  of  fulness  in  the  spiritual  life.  About  fifty 
percent  are  Catholic,  though  the  Roman  Church  had  fallen  largely  into  decay 
up  to  the  time  of  American  possession  and  the  entrance  of  Protestant  Mission¬ 
aries  in  1898.  Then  the  Roman  church  made  a  great  effort  to  revive  its  worK 
and  its  prestige.  In  1920,  while  only  twelve  percent  of  the  people  were  said 
to  be  Protestants,  the  attendance  at  Protestant  services  was  larger  than  that 
of  the  Catholic  faith  to  which  fifty  percent  of  the  people  subscribed.  The 
balance  seem  indifferent  to  any  religion. 

In  spite  of  this  sad  picture  of  Porto  Rican  life  these  people  have  in  the 
past  few  years  shown  their  ability  to  develop  and  they  are  moving  forward. 
With  remarkable  wisdom  and  far-reaching  vision  the  Protestant  missionaries 
have  divided  the  territory  of  the  island  so  that  no  mission  over-laps  another. 
There  are  doubtless  objections  to  this  plan  of  parceling  out  territory  to  various 
denominations,  but  certainly  it  is  a  step  far  beyond  the  old  plan  of  competition 
and  rivalry,  as  the  work  done  there  has  already  abundantly  testified. 


Four 


II. 

THE  BEGINNINGS 
1901-1906 


INTO  this  land  of  matchless  natural  beauty  and  terrible  human  need,  the 
Christian  Church  came  with  its  first  missionaries  in  1901  and  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  has  carried  on  its  work  with  varying  success.  There  have  been 
many  problems  and  countless  struggles. 

On  the  twelfth  of  January,  1901,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  P.  Barrett,  and  Rev. 
II.  J.  Rhodes  sailed  from  New  York  for  Porto  Rico  as  missionaries  from  the 
Christian  Church  and  landed  at  San  Juan,  the  capitol,  on  the  seventeenth.  Mr. 
Rhodes,  who  had  had  previous  experience  in  Japan,  went  down  for  just  a  year 
to  help  start  the  work,  but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrett  turned  their  backs  on  home 

and  friends  to  devote  their  lives 
to  it.  After  twenty-five  years  of 
service  they  are  still  at  their  post. 

During  these  years  they  have  wit¬ 
nessed  and  had  a  large  share  in 
the  development  of  our  work  on 
the  island.  Here  their  children 
have  been  born  and  reared,  and 
here  they  have  woven  their  lives 
into  the  lives  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  have  labored. 

Immediately  upon  landing,  the 
Barretts  and  Mr.  Rhodes  proceeded 
to  Ponce  on  the  south  side  of  the 

island  and  the  next  largest  city  in  Porto  Rico.  This  city,  according  to  agree¬ 
ment  with  the  other  denominations,  became  the  western  extremity  of  the  field 
of  the  Christian  Church,  which  extends  eastward  along  the  lowlands  skirting 
the  Caribbean  for  about  thirty-five  miles  and  a  width  of  from  six  to  ten  miles 
from  the  coast  up  into  the  foot-hills.  Here,  we  are  told,  are  approximately 
70,000  people  for  whom  the  Christian  Church  is  wholly  responsible  in  carrying 
the  gospel. 


Rev. 


Barrett 


Mrs.  Eva  O.  Barrett 


Within  three  weeks  after  reaching  Ponce  our  missionaries  had  started  a 
day  school  with  seven  pupils  which  increased  to  a  total  of  ninety  by  the  end 
of  the  year.  This  school  was  not  continued  much  beyond  the  first  year  as  the 
United  States  government  began  to  provide  for  this  education. 

These  new  missionaries  were  fortunate  in  securing  a  splendid  teacher  who 
had  had  previous  missionary  experience  among  his  people.  On  Easter  Sunday, 
three  months  after  they  landed,  “as  the  clock  was  striking  nine,”  so  wrote  Mr. 
Rhodes,  “we  stepped  out  upon  the  street  with  our  little  organ  and  Spanish 
song  book  in  hand.  Only  a  minute’s  walk  and  we  were  at  the  hall.  We  went 
in  and  made  ready  for  the  service.  Not  a  native  had  yet  entered  the  house, 
though  several  were  on  the  streets  not  far  away.  Mrs.  Barrett  began  playing 


Five 


the  good  old  hymn,  “I  Know  That  My  Redeemer  Liveth,”  and  the  people  be¬ 
gan  rushing  to  the  door  full  of  anxiety  and  amazement  at  the  procedure.  The 
first  to  enter  were  some  colored  ladies  pretty  well  dressed,  then  an  old  man 
came  in  and  took  a  seat  pretty  well  front;  others  came  in;  the  crowd  outside 
was  steadily  growing;  there  were  nurses  with  tiny  children,  boys  and  girls  of 
all  ages  from  one  to  twenty.  Some  were  dressed  neatly  while  the  garments 
of  others  were  in  strings.” 

After  some  songs  and  prayer  the  Spanish  teacher  talked  from  the  24th 
chapter  of  Luke  and  at  the  evening  service  from  John  3:16.  And  thus  began 
our  work  in  Porto  Rico  with  the  missionaries  living  in  a  rented  house  and 
holding  services  in  a  rented  hall. 

On  January  18,  1902,  just  a  year  to  the  day  from  the  time  our  first  mis¬ 
sionaries  reached  Ponce,  Rev.  Thomas  E.  White  of  North  Carolina  and  Rev. 
Miss  Jennie  Mishler  of  Leaf  River,  Illinois,  landed  in  that  same  city  as  recruits 
to  the  missionary  force  of  the  Christian  Church.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Rhodes 
had  completed  his  work  of  assisting  in  establishing  the  mission  and  had  re¬ 
turned  to  the  States. 

Mr.  White,  impressed  to  preach  from  childhood,  graduated  from  Elon 
College  and  deliberately  chose  to  go  to  Porto  Rico  because  he  wanted  to  serve 
in  the  most  needy  field  he  could  find.  For  about  nine  years  he  gave  himself 
unstintedly  to  this  work,  spending  most  of  his  time  in  the  Salinas  field,  where 
to  this  day  the  marks  of  his  faithful  service  are  plainly  to  be  seen.  But  failing 
health  on  the  part  of  both  himself  and  family  made  it  necessary  to  give  up  his 
work  and  come  home.  He  has  been  and  is  still  serving  as  a  most  loyal  and 
devoted  pastor  in  the  Southland. 

Miss  Mishler,  born  of  German  parents,  became  a  Christian  as  a  girl  of 
twelve  and  had  some  experience  in  rescue  mission  and  evangelistic  work  be¬ 
fore  going  to  Porto  Rico.  She  took  up  the  work  at  Santa  Isabel  where  most 
of  her  service  was  rendered  and  where  she  accomplished  much  for  the  kingdom. 
For  years,  in  spite  of  strong  opposition,  she  continued  her  work  at  Santa 
Isabel,  which  was  one  of  the  most  difficult  fields  on  the  island.  Soon  after  the 
beginning  of  1912  Miss  Mishler  came  home,  however,  and  never  returned  to  the 
work,  though  she  still  retains  an  active  interest  in  all  that  is  being  done  there. 

When  Miss  Mishler  and  Mr.  White  sailed  for  their  first  term,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  J.  P.  Barrett,  D.  D.,  and  daughter  Ethel  sailed  with  them  at  the  re¬ 
quest  of  the  Board  to  visit  the  mission  and  to  be  of  mutual  help  to  both  the 
workers  and  the  Mission  Board  in  endeavoring  to  enlarge  the  work.  Dr. 
Barrett  was  greatly  encouraged  by  the  outlook  and  on  his  return  wrote  a  book 
describing  their  travels. 

Our  first  church  in  Porto  Rico  was  organized  at  Ponce,  February  22,  1903, 
with  five  charter  members.  One  of  these,  Rafael  Hernandez,  became  a  fine 
Christian  worker  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  February  23,  1913,  and 
continued  in  spite  of  his  own  ill  health  and  the  sickness  of  his  family  until 
1917  when  he  resigned  as  pastor  of  the  Ponce  church. 

These  earlier  years  were  made  difficult  for  Christian  work  because  of  the 
entrenched  Romanism  and  the  accompanying  ignorance  and  superstition,  but 


Six 


Aru s  Christian  Church  in  background  at  right 


by  the  close  of  1905  churches,  though  with  very  small  memberships,  had  been 
established  at  Ponce,  Arus,  Santa  Isabel,  Jauca,  and  Salinas.  All  these  con¬ 
tinue  today  and  each  has  a  commendable  gain  in  membership.  In  addition  to 
these  churches  in  1905  work  was  carried  on  in  four  outposts. 

The  first  conference  was  organized  February  27,  1906  and  marked  one  of 
the  most  important  events  connected  with  the  work.  Delegates  from  five 
churches  coming  together  at  Ponce  were  organized  under  the  name  of  the 
Porto  Rico  Christian  Conference.  At  this  conference  Mr.  Hernandez  and 
Esteban  Martinez  were  licensed  to  preach.  The  first  thing  the  churches  were 
asked  to  do  was  to  raise  a  total  of  fifty  dollars  to  help  secure  a  lot  for  a 
chapel  at  Arus,  and  this  they  accomplished  before  the  second  conference, 
though  the  lot  was  not  secured  until  later. 


Seven 


III. 

SUNSHINE,  CLOUDS,  AND  SOME  SILVER  LINING 

1907-1914 

THE  seven  years  that  followed  are  well  described  in  the  title  of  this  chap¬ 
ter.  The  church  building  at  Salinas  was  erected  in  1907  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500,  and  dedicated  the  following  February.  The  lot  on  which  the 
building  stands  near  the  plaza  was  donated  by  the  town  authorities  on  condi- 

Foreign  Mission  Secre¬ 
tary,  Dr.  Morrill,  made 
two  trips  to  Porto  Rico 
during  the  year,  first  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  field 
and  later  to  receive 
the  Salinas  lot  for 
the  Board  and  start  the 
church  building. 

For  several  years 
between  1908-1911  two 
of  our  members  from 
the  States  were  teach¬ 
ing  in  Ponce  and  rend¬ 
ered  valuable  assist¬ 
ance  to  the  work.  Miss 
Ethel  Culver  of  Dayton 
was  followed  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  W.  C.  Mc¬ 
Cloud,  o  f  Virginia, 
both  of  whom  by  their  devotion  to  the  cause  made  these  years  especially  fruit¬ 
ful  in  developing  Sunday-school  and  Christian  Endeavor  work.  A  marked 
evangelistic  spirit  manifested  itself.  Mr.  White  reported  a  gracious  revival 
in  Salinas  and  the  schedule  of  the  Barrett’s  weekly  activities  showed  a  tre¬ 
mendous  lot  of  work  being  done  in  the  Ponce  field.  New  points  were  being 
opened  and  conversions  resulted.  Young  people  of  promise  were  also  being  de¬ 
veloped,  among  them  being  Pedro  Roman  who  continues  as  one  of  our  most 
faithful  pastors,  now  on  the  Salinas  circuit. 

A  long  drought  was  broken  in  1909  by  bountiful  rains  which  greatly  en¬ 
couraged  the  poor  people  of  our  district.  The  lot  for  a  chapel  at  Arus  was 
secured  and  a  small  chapel  at  Canas  near  Ponce  was  built  and  dedicated  by  the 
Porto  Rico  Conference,  with  furnishings  made  possible  by  gifts  from  Miss 
Culver  and  friends  in  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky.  Special  gifts  from 
the  Waverly,  Va.,  church  made  possible  the  part  time  employment  of  Miss 
Micaela  Reyes,  who  had  shown  great  aptitude  for  Sunday-school  and  Christian 
Endeavor  work.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  of  the  $3,800  appropriated  for 


tion  that  a  church  be  built  within  nine  months.  The 


The  Canas  ehapel  built  by  the  Porto  Rico  Conference 
and  now  moved  to  the  new  location  Clausells.  These 
Sunday-school  children  are  sit  the  new  location. 


Eight 


The  old  house  in  Santa  Isabel  where  Miss  Misliler  lived  and  worked,  The  door 
to  the  left  indicates  where  Dr.  Ruth  had  his  office  and  the  next  door  the  dis¬ 
pensary.  The  splendid  group  of  young  people  shown  is  part  of  the  Sunday- 
school  when  Mr.  Martin  was  there.  He  is  shown  second  from  the  extreme  right. 

Porto  Rico  in  1909  Mr.  White  wrote  that  $987  would  go  for  rent.  There  were 
then  only  three  native  workers  employed  and  two  of  these  for  only  part  time. 

The  following  year  a  tiny  chapel  was  secured  at  an  outpost,  Manzanilla, 
through  the  gift  of  Mr.  A.  V.  Priddy  of  West  Manchester,  Ohio.  Miss  Mishler 
secured  a  house  and  lot  in  Santa  Isabel  for  the  Mission  at  a  prominent  corner 
of  the  plaza,  which  is  the  center  of  the  social  life  of  every  Porto  Rican  town. 
The  house  was  repaired  and  the  Santa  Isabel  church  people  gave  liberally  to 
help  furnish  it  for  services  and  also  as  a  home  for  Miss  Mishler.  Clouds 
hovered,  however,  for  Mr.  White  was  compelled  to  come  home  during  the  year. 
His  work  was  carried  on  by  the  McClouds,  Mr.  McCloud  giving  time  to  it 
aside  from  his  government  teaching. 

The  property  at  Santa  Isabel  made  it  possible  for  Miss  Mishler  to  open 
a  dispensary  July  1,  1911.  A  Dr.  Ruth  of  the  Methodist  Church  made  weekly 
visits  and  Mr.  Barrett  extended  the  work  to  Salinas.  In  a  single  year  sev¬ 
eral  hundred  cases  were  treated  at  each  place.  During  the  year  a  chapel  was 
erected  and  furnished  on  the  Arus  lot  at  a  cost  of  about  $700.  The  work  of 
our  missionaries  was  very  much  strengthened  by  the  visit  of  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan 
of  the  American  Bible  Society,  who  had  offered  his  services  to  us  as  a  mission¬ 
ary,  but  who  could  not  be  employed  for  lack  of  funds.  His  agents  did  a  great 
work  in  putting  portions  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  many  in  our  field. 

The  Foreign  Mission  Secretary,  Dr.  Morrill,  went  to  the  island  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  1912,  to  let  the  contract  for  the  much  needed  church  in  Ponce,  funds  for 
which  had  been  accumulating  for  some  time.  This  was  a  year  of  disaster  to 
our  working  force.  Miss  Mishler  came  home  in  March  and  did  not  return. 
The  McClouds  left  in  June.  Lack  of  funds  forced  us  to  drop  Mr.  Roman,  but 
the  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  church  pledged  the  funds  to  restore  him  to  the 
work.  One  or  two  other  men  had  to  be  dropped.  Mr.  Juan  Romero  carried  on 
the  work  left  by  Miss  Mishler  at  Santa  Isabel.  After  serving  the  best  he 


Nine 


The  Ponce  church,  showing  the  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School  which  was  con¬ 
ducted  in  1924. 


could  in  various  fields  until  1921  he  was  sent  to  the  Porto  Rico  Union  Seminary 
where  he  completed  a  two-year  course  and  then  came  back  to  our  work  to 
which  he  is  most  loyal.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Hernandez  and  his  ill  health,  tem¬ 
porarily  lost  this  worker  to  us. 

Early  the  following  year  (1913)  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  F.  Burnett  sailed  for 
Porto  Rico  where  they  dedicated  the  new  Ponce  church  February  23,  and  also 
made  a  tour  of  all  our  work  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  cause  both  there  and 
in  the  homeland.  While  they  were  there  they  received  a  taste  of  missionary 
difficulties  when  one  of  the  frequent  and  sudden  floods  carried  the  new  Arus 
chapel  off  into  a  cane  field. 

Ill  health  forced  the  Barretts  to  come  home  on  a  prolonged  furlough  in 
1913  leaving  no  American  missionary  on  the  field.  The  work  suffered  heavily. 
There  was  tremendous  need  for  new  missionaries.  For  lack  of  funds  and 
workers  the  Jauca  church  had  to  disband  and  the  need  for  men  at  Salinas  and 
Santa  Isabel  and  a  woman  at  Ponce  was  imperative  to  stop  further  losses.  At 
this  juncture  Miss  Olive  G.  Williams  applied  to  the  Board  for  appointment, 
November  14,  1914,  and  though  forty-seven  years  old,  which  was  much  beyond 
the  age  limit,  she  was  appointed.  For  years  she  had  been  interested  in 
missionary  work,  dating  from  early  childhood,  when  she  had  given  to  Dr.  J.  P. 
Watson,  the  first  dime  for  The  Children’s  Mission,  which  was  largely  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  developing  of  our  mission  work.  Miss  Williams  had  had  a 
large  experience  in  newspaper  work,  being  associated  with  her  father  in  that 
business  and  also  as  his  secretary  while  serving  in  the  House  of  Represent¬ 
atives.  A  tour  of  the  world  in  1899  and  1900  crystallized  her  missionary 


Ten 


Wash  Day  in  Porto  Rico 


interest.  When  she  applied  she  had  no  close  relatives  and  entered  the  work 
determined  to  devote  the  remaining,  years  of  her  life  to  it.  How  well  she 
wrought  in  the  next  ten  years  is  known  to  many  of  our  people  who  followed 
her  splendid  service.  Her  death  at  Lakemont,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1925,  just 
eleven  years  and  two  days  from  the  time  she  applied  for  appointment,  closed 
a  career  of  utter  abandon  to  the  work,  the  results  of  which  can  never  be 
fully  told. 


Olive  G.  Williams 


Eleven 


IV. 


STEPS  FORWARD,  DENOMINATIONAL  AND  CO-OPERATIVE 

1915-1918 

WHEN  Miss  Williams  was  placed  under  appointment,  what  was  then  the 
Third  Christian  Church,  now  Christian  Temple,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
assumed  her  salary  support  and  continued  to  pay  it  until  her  death.  On 
January  23,  1915  she  sailed  for  Porto  Rico  and  reached  Ponce  on  the  29th, 
where  for  most  of  five  years  she  labored  for  souls. 

The  church  at  Arus  Playita  was  organized  with  six  members  in  1915.  A 
lot  next  to  the  Ponce  church  was  purchased  for  $900  of  which  $600  was  given 
by  a  donor  who  withheld  his  name  from  publication.  Mr.  Barrett’s  work  was 
greatly  increased  because  of  his  appointment  as  Superintendent  of  the  mission, 
but  the  addition  of  a  Ford  secured  after  several  years  effort  to  raise  special 
funds  for  the  purpose,  made  it  possible  for  him  to  frequently  visit  all  the 
churches  in  the  field. 

Rev.  R.  Sandoval,  who  was  ordained  by  the  Christian  and  Missionary 
Alliance,  came  to  us  in  1916  and  has  been  with  us  ever  since.  Dona  Delfina 
Zayas,  who  had  helped  in  carrying  on  the  work  at  Santa  Isabel  after  Miss 
Mishler  left,  continued  and  still  continues  to  give  most  faithful  service  as  a 
Bible  woman,  now  at  Ponce.  The  following  year  Rev.  Hernandez  resigned 
from  the  work,  but  we  were  able  to  secure  part-time  assistance  from  Juan 
Rodriguez,  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  and  Mr.  M.  E.  Martinez,  an  assist¬ 
ant  on  the  staff  of  the  Union  religious  paper,  Porto  Rico  Evangelico,  who 
settled  as  pastor  of  Salinas.  Before  resigning,  Rev.  Hernandez  translated 
“The  Origin  and  Principles  of  the  Christian  Church”  by  Dr.  Burnett  into 
Spanish  and  this  proved  a  great  help  to  our  national  pastors  in  understanding 
the  spirit  and  work  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  Jauca  work  was  reorganized 
by  Rev.  Sandoval  and  the  Salinas  work  greatly  strengthened,  Dona  Delfina 
assisting  there.  The  Mission  Home  in  Ponce  was  bought  for  $6,000  and  the 
Porto  Rico  Conference  erected  the  small  chapel  at  Canas,  a  suburb  of  Ponce. 
Our  young  people  in  the  States  were  showing  unusual  interest  in  the  Porto 
Rico  work  by  agreeing  to  support  workers,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Miss 
Carrie  Robison,  they  began  to  raise  a  fund  for  a  chapel  at  Santa  Isabel  for 
which  a  campaign  had  been  started  the  year  before.  The  United  States  was 
stirred  in  1917  by  the  action  of  Porto  Rico  in  voting  dry  by  38,000  votes  just 
after  it  had  been  given  United  States  citizenship.  War  conditions  and  the  de¬ 
parture  of  some  of  the  young  men  who  were  helping  in  the  work  proved  no 
little  handicap  later  on.  Then  an  earthquake  did  great  damage  to  property, 
including  our  Ponce  and  Salinas  churches.  It  was  followed  by  the  terrible 
influenza  scourge.  For  a  week  when  it  was  at  its  worst  Miss  Williams  gave 
twelve  hours  a  day  in  voluntary  service  at  the  hospital. 

One  of  the  most  epoch-making  events  of  missionary  history  was  the 


Twelve 


Students  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  of  Porto  Rico 


Congress  on  Latin  America  held  in  Panama  early  in  1916.  The  Christian 
Church  was  represented  by  Dr.  Morrill,  Mr.  Barrett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F,  R. 
Woodward  of  Hill,  N.  H.,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  William  Flammer,  pastor  of  the 
Union  Church  in  the  Canal  Zone,  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan  of  the  American  Bible 
Society  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Warner  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  South  America.  Follow¬ 
ing  the  Congress,  Regional  Conferences  were  held  in  various  parts  of  Latin 
America  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  co-operation  there  agreed  upon.  Dr.  Morrill 
and  Mr.  Barrett  went  to  the  Regional  Conference  in  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico, 
where  it  was  proposed  that  an  Evangelical  Union  of  Porto  Rico  be  launched 
by  the  missions  having  work  on  the  island.  Our  Mission  Board,  upon  recom¬ 
mendation  of  Dr.  Morrill,  Mr.  Barrett  and  the  national  workers,  approved  our 
entrance  with  five  other  denominations  into  the  Union  which  in  the  past  ten 
years  has  accomplished  great  things  through  the  launching  of  a  Union  Paper 
and  Printing  Press,  a  Union  Seminary  and  other  splendid  missionary  efforts. 
The  Foreign  Mission  Secretary  was  made  a  member  of  the  Advisory  Committee 
directing  the  Union  enterprise  and  this  representation,  which  still  stands,  has 
been  a  great  boon  to  the  work.  By  1920  the  Congregational,  Baptist,  Method¬ 
ist  Episcopal,  Disciple,  United  Brethren,  Presbyterian,  and  Christian  Churches 
were  members  of  the  Union.  The  Union  Press  publishing  the  religious  paper, 
Porto  Rico  Evangelico,  is  at  present  being  incorporated  and  the  Seminary  is 
adding  considerable  property. 


Thirteen 


V. 

FRUITS,  BY-PRODUCTS  AND  CONTINUED  GROWTH 

1919-1922 


FTER  twelve  years  of  efficient  and  faithful  service  Dr.  M.  T.  Morrill 


retired  from  the  office  of  Foreign  Mission  Secretary,  January  1,  1919. 


*  The  sudden  death  in  April,  1920,  of  the  acting  Secretary,  Dr.  E.  K. 
McCord,  brought  to  the  office  at  this  time  the  present  Secretary,  Wilson  P. 
Minton,  who  had  been  elected  at  the  Convention  session  at  Conneaut  the  year 
before  and  granted  a  year’s  leave  of  absence  for  special  study.  In  this  chap¬ 
ter  we  see  the  beginning  of  a  harvest  from  the  seed  sown  in  these  earlier 
years. 

Miss  Williams  saw  the  first  real  fruits  of  her  labors  realized  when  Juan 
Monita  graduated  from  the  Ponce  High  School  and  later  came  to  Defiance  tor 
further  work.  He  has  since  graduated  and  is  at  present  teaching  in  a  western 
school  with  the  expectation  of  returning  to  Porto  Rico  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work 
later.  With  Mr.  Monita  came  Juan  Garcia  and  Manuel  Rodriguez  who  also 
graduated  from  Defiance.  The  former  is  now  teaching  in  Porto  Rico  with  the 
hope  of  becoming  a  medical  missionary  to  his  own  people.  The  latter  has 
just  accepted  a  responsible  position  as  representative  of  a  large  United  States 
firm.  ,  This  same  year  Victor  Rivera,  under  the  encouragement  of  Mr.  Barrett, 
came  to  Elon  where  he  later  graduated  and  gave  twTo  years  to  our  mission, 
largely  in  the  interest  of  Sunday-school  and  Christian  Endeavor  work,  before 
taking  up  the  teaching  profession. 

On  December  22,  1919,  Miss  Williams  welcomed  to  Porto  Rico  as  bride  and 
groom,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Penn  G.  Snyder.  Mrs.  Snyder  was  Miss  Amy  Ruse  of 
Dayton  who  for  several  years  had  shown  such  great  interest  in  our  work  as 
office  assistant  in  the  mission  rooms.  Mr.  Snyder  was  engaged  in  the  bee 
business  at  Aibonito,  and  during  the  years  that  followed  these  two  were  always 
lending  assistance  to  our  missionaries  in  all  sorts  of  difficulties  and  became 
to  them  towers  of  strength  in  time  of  need. 

The  bright  spot  in  this  year’s  work  was  the  volunteering  of  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Martin  for  work  in  Porto  Rico.  Rev.  Wm.  Q.  McKnight  had  previously 
been  appointed  to  this  field,  and  was  ready  to  go,  though  his  preference  was 
for  Japan.  Mr.  Martin  was  at  the  time  pastor  of  Mr.  McKnight’s  home  church 
in  the  Western  Indiana  Conference  and  came  to  Dayton  to  volunteer  his 
service.  Though  somewhat  beyond  the  age  limit  he  was  accepted  because  of 
his  peculiar  fitness  for  the  type  of  work  needed  at  that  time  and  because 
of  his  splendid  preparation  for  service  in  a  Latin  American  country.  This 
made  it  possible  for  the  McKnights  to  go  to  Japan  the  following  spring. 

The  Martins,  with  their  son  Paul,  sailed  February  28,  1920,  and  after 
months  of  most  trying  experiences  waiting  for  their  goods  and  securing  a 
house,  they  finally  settled  at  Santa  Isabel.  During  the  delay  Mr.  Martin  ap¬ 
plied  himself  studiously  to  the  language  and  before  many  months  was  making 


Fourteen 


The  Santa  Isabel  Chapel  standing  where  the  old  building  formerly  stood 


real  headway  with  the  work  in  his  field.  Unfortunately  Mrs.  Martin  found  it 
absolutely  impossible  to  become  acclimated  and  after  some  months  struggle 
was  forced  to  return  to  the  States  in  September.  But  Mr.  Martin  stayed  on 
alone  in  the  hope  that  her  health  would  improve  and  they  could  continue  the 
work  to  which  both  of  them  had  set  their  hearts  and  which  they  had  learned  to 
love  with  the  consuming  love  of  real  missionaries.  For  nearly  eight  months 
Mr.  Martin  struggled  on  alone,  himself  experiencing  much  difficulty  from  ill 
health.  He  was  furnished  a  Ford  and  made  excellent  use  of  it,  carrying  on 
some  of  Mr.  Barrett’s  visitation  work  during  his  furlough.  He  also  acted  as 
Mission  Treasurer.  Among  other  things  he  succeeded  in  getting  the  young 
people  of  the  church  to  give  one  offering  a  month  for  missions  and  opened  up 
a  new  outpost  at  Paso  Seco.  Here  in  May,  1921,  he  preached  his  maiden 
sermon  in  Spanish  and  rejoiced  to  see  some  conversions.  But  soon  after  he  was 
forced  to  accept  the  inevitable  and  come  home  to  look  after  Mrs.  Martin.  They 
still  entertained  hopes  of  being  able  to  return  to  their  beloved  work  in  Santa 
Isabel.  But  this  privilege,  for  they  always  esteemed  it  such,  has  been  denied 
them.  From  the  standpoint  of  our  work  on  the  island,  the  fifteen  months  stay 
of  Mr.  Martin  with  its  consequent  expense,  was  a  fine  investment  for  the 
kingdom,  but  at  what  terrible  cost  to  the  Martins,  only  they  can  tell.  They 
have  never  recovered  from  the  effects  of  those  months  in  Porto  Rico. 

Something  of  the  hold  of  our  missionaries  on  the  national  workers  is  noted 
when  we  read  that  the  Barretts  were  showered  with  parting  gifts  by  their 
Porto  Rico  friends  when  they  came  home  in  June,  1920,  for  their  regular  fur¬ 
lough.  The  spirit  of  Jesus  does  bind  us  close  together  regardless  of  race  or 
color.  Mr.  Barrett  attended  the  October  Board  meeting  while  on  this  furlough 
and  reported  four  national  workers  employed  (three  men  and  one  woman), 
three  American  workers  (one  woman  and  two  men)  and  close  to  70,000  people 
in  our  field.  His  furlough  extended  to  February,  1921,  to  enable  him  to  take 


Fifteen 


The  Salinas  Parsonage,  Mr.  Barrett  and  Pastor  Sandoval  in  center 

some  school  work  at  Elon.  When  they  returned  they  left  two  of  their  six 
children  (Alice  and  Olyn)  in  school  at  Elon. 

The  greatly  increased  cost  of  operation  and  living  expenses  made  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  increase  the  appropriations  for  the  running  expenses  of  the  work. 
Building  operations,  too,  were  proving  far  more  costly  because  of  post-war 
conditions  than  at  first  planned  on.  Only  the  funds  from  the  Forward  Move¬ 
ment  made  it  possible  for  us  to  proceed  with  the  work  on  the  same  scale.  It 
is  significant  that  the  Porto  Rico  churches  joined  heartily  in  the  program  of 
the  Movement. 

During  the  absence  of  the  Barretts,  Miss  Williams  continued  her  work  at 
Ponce,  and  Mr.  Martin,  who  was  still  on  the  island,  at  Santa  Isabel.  Miss 
Williams  had  at  her  own  expense  given  a  young  lady,  Miss  Caledonia  Vasquez, 
some  kindergarten  training,  and  together  they  opened  our  first  kindergarten 
in  Ponce  in  1921.  Her  neighborhood  and  industrial  work  was  also  begun  in 
Ponce.  When  Mr.  Martin  came  home,  Dona  Delfina  was  transferred  from 
Ponce  to  Santa  Isabel.  A  young  woman  who  had  been  helping  at  Salinas 
resigned.  So  in  May,  1921,  Miss  Williams  began  her  work  in  Salinas,  where 
for  five  years,  at  first  with  fearful  opposition,  but  later  with  the  hearty  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  town  authorities  who  were  completely  changed  by  her  fine  effort, 
she  strove  to  really  help  the  people  through  the  industrial  work  and  Christian 
service. 

Fortunately,  a  few  months  before  Mr.  Martin  came  home  he  had  been  able 
to  work  with  a  young  man,  Rev.  Ojeda,  at  Santa  Isabel,  who  had  come  to  us 
shortly  before.  He  had  at  one  time  been  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Jordan,  of 
the  American  Bible  Society,  and  came  with  excellent  qualifications  for  the 
work.  He  continues  with  us,  being  recently  located  at  Salinas  after  four  years 
of  effective  work  at  Santa  Isabel.  Among  other  things,  Rev.  Ojeda  has  been 


i Sixteen 


much  in  demand  to  represent  us  on  teams  doing  Union  Evangelistic  work  on 
the  island. 

Growing  missionary  interest  at  the  home  base  and  larger  service  on  the 
field  characterized  this  period.  The  Irvington,  N.  J.,  church  raised  a  thousand 
dollars  for  a  parsonage  at  Arus  but  when  a  good  title  could  not  be  secured 
they  gladly  transferred  the  gift  for  a  similar  parsonage  at  Salinas  where  the 
pastor  was  about  to  be  forced  out  of  town  because  of  inability  to  find  a  place 
to  live.  The  Irvington  people  sent  along  several  hundred  dollars  more  to 
repair  the  newly  purchased  property.  As  the  work  developed  and  the  national 
pastors  found  new  opportunities  for  touching  people  in  the  little  outlying 
villages,  it  became  necessary  to  secure  for  them  horse  and  buggy  outfits  as 
means  of  travel  on  the  mud  roads.  The  Wakarusa,  Indiana,  church  furnished 
four  hundred  dollars  for  this  purpose  and  made  two  pastors  happy. 

At  the  request  of  the  Mission  Board  the  Foreign  Mission  Secretary,  and 
Dr.  J.  O.  Atkinson,  Secretary  of  the  Mission  Board  of  the  Southern  Christian 
Convention  went  to  Porto  Rico  to  study  the  field.  They  sailed  in  September, 
1921,  Mr.  Martin  going  along  to  close  up  the  work  he  had  so  splendidly  begun 

and  left  with  such 
genuine  reluctance.  The 
recommendations  of  the 
Commission  calling  for 
a  more  comprehensive 
program  o  f  service 
were  later  adopted  by 
the  Mission  Board.  This 
included  the  adoption 
by  the  mission  of  a 
more  definite  plan  for 
increase  i  n  national 
self-support  and  since 
that  time  there  has  been 
much  greater  progress 
along  this  line.  Miss 
Vasquez  completed  the 
first  year  of  the  Ponce 
kindergarten  and  began 
the  second  with  larger 
attendance,  in  the  meantime  securing  her  teaching  diploma.  A  kindergarten 
was  also  started  (1922)  in  Salinas  and  we  finished  paying  the  debt  on  the 
Ponce  Mission  Home. 

The  Mission  Board,  meeting  during  The  General  Convention  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church  at  Burlington  in  October,  decided  to  let  the  contract  at  once  for 
the  building  of  the  chapel  in  Santa  Isabel.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  before 
the  end  of  the  year.  Miss  Williams,  who  was  on  furlough  at  the  time  of  the 
Convention  became  very  ill  soon  after  and  for  many  weeks  was  in  a  serious 
condition  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  but  she  recovered  sufficiently  to  go  back  to  her 
beloved  work  soon  after  the  first  of  the  next  year. 


Interior  of  rented  preaching  place  where  Miss  Wil¬ 
liams  worked  at  the  Salinas  Playa.  She  is  standing  at 
the  front  (right )  with  Rev.  Sandoval  at  the  left  ami 
Mr.  Pedro  Lind,  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school 
between  them.  Seated  on  the  front  row  can  he  seen 
Dr.  J.  O.  Atkinson  (left),  and  Rev.  W.  H.  Martin. 


Seventeen. 


LENGTHENING  THE  CORDS  AND  STRENGTHENING  THE  STAKES 

1923- 


THESE  years  in  the  midst  of  which  we  now  find  ourselves  have  been 
marked  by  definite  efforts  to  strengthen  the  work  by  keeping  up  the  force 
of  missionaries,  adding  much  needed  building  equipment  and  particular¬ 
ly  by  an  effort  to  draw  out  the  national  workers  into  larger  responsibility  tor 
the  work.  How  well  we  have  succeeded  these  closing  pages  will  tell. 

The  first  interesting  event  of  1923  was 
the  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School  at  Sa¬ 
linas,  the  first  to  be  undertaken  in  our 
work  in  Porto  Rico.  Miss  Williams  also 
reported  that  up  to  this  time  the  in¬ 
dustrial  work  had  increased  the  original 
investment  of  $100  to  $500.  The  needle 
work  was  being  done  largely  at  Ponce 
under  the  careful  supervision  of  Mrs. 
Barrett. 

Another  event  of  the  year  was  the 
dedication  of  the  Santa  Isabel  Chapel,  on 
September  7,  built  at  a  cost  of  $12,901.66. 
This  amount  was  not  all  raised  by  the 
young  people,  as  it  was  so  much  more 
than  the  original  estimate,  and  the 
Woman’s  Board  came  to  the  rescue  in 
order  to  make  possible  the  kind  of  build¬ 
ing  really  needed  in  this  strategic  loca¬ 
tion.  But  this  beautiful  and  useful  build¬ 
ing  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  interest 
and  loyalty  of  our  young  people  and  to 
the  patient,  plodding  efforts  of  their  leaders.  The  names  of  hundreds  of  our 
boys  and  girls  were  deposited  in  the  corner  stone  when  the  building  was 
erected.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  members  of  our  Porto  Rico  churches 
gave  the  money  to  purchase  the  beautiful  native  wood  pulpit  furniture  for 
the  new  building. 


Our  first  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
School  in  Porto  Rico,  at  Salinas, 
19_:(.  Miss  Williams  in  background. 


Still  another  event  of  the  year  was  the  sailing  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bruce  W. 
Morton  for  missionary  service.  Mr.  Morton  of  Newmarket,  Ontario,  had  been 
appointed  in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  able  to  develop  some  agricultural  work 
and  aid  in  the  enlarging  of  the  industrial  work.  On  July  10  he  married 
Miss  Esther  O.  Brownsberger  of  Ringwood,  Ontario,  and  their  going  together 
to  this  great  work  has  been  a  boon  to  our  whole  cause  on  the  island.  The  On¬ 
tario  Christian  Conference  at  once  assumed  the  salary  of  these  workers.  The 
Mortons  took  up  their  abode  for  some  time  with  Miss  Williams,  assisting  in 


Eighteen 


the  industrial  work,  while  seeking  to  gain  a  wol’king  knowledge  of  the 
language. 


Early  in  1924  we  received  word  that  the  rented  home  in  which  Miss  Wil¬ 
liams  was  doing;  her  industrial  work  in  Salinas  was  about  to  be  sold  and 
there  was  no  other  suitable  home  in  the  town  available.  When  the  facts  were 
published  offers  of  one  thousand  dollars  from  one  individual  and  one  hundred 
dollars  from  another  were  soon  made.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  F.  Foor,  Everett, 
Pa.,  agreed  to  assume  the  full  cost  of  $2,800  for  the  home  and  the  other  two 

donors  graciously  permitted  their 
gifts  to  go  to  the  purchase  of  a 
very  much  needed  parsonage  in 
Arus.  Thus  we  have  from  time  to 
time  been  saved  great  embarrass¬ 
ment  to  the  work  by  the  timely  and 
generous  response  of  real  mission¬ 
ary  friends.  The  newly  acquired 
home  has  been  called  the  Foor 
Neighborhood  House  and  continues 
to  be  the  scene  of  genuine  mission¬ 
ary  service  to  a  needy  people. 

Mr.  Bruce  W.  Morton  The  Barretts  Came  home  on  Mrs.  Esther  O.  Morton 

their  regular  furlough  and  during 

their  stay  here  Mrs.  Barrett  had  to  undergo  a  serious,  but  happily  successful 
operation  for  goitre.  Those  of  us  living  under  such  ideal  conditions  as  we 
have  in  America,  can  scarcely  realize  the  severe  physical  handicaps  mission¬ 
aries  are  so  constantly  called  upon  to  face.  During  the  Barrett’s  fui’lough  the 
Mortons  moved  to  Ponce  and  in  addition  to  language  study  and  the  oversight 
of  the  Ponce  work  they  directed  the  extensive  repairs  made  on  the  Ponce 
Mission  Home.  Here  again  the  Woman’s  Mission  Board  came  to  our  rescue 
with  funds  amounting  to  more  than  $2,000  to  make  possible  these  necessary 
improvements. 


During  the  year  two  hundred  dollars  from  the  industrial  work  and  two 
hundred  more  from  private  gifts  to  Miss  Williams  were  used  in  the  purchase 
of  two  lots  in  a  suburb  of  Ponce  to  which  our  little  chapel  formerly  at  Canas 
was  moved,  thus  opening  up  an  opportunity  for  larger  service.  At  this  time 
also  our  young  people  under  the  leadership  of  Miss  Robison  began  to  raise  a 
fund  for  a  parsonage  near  the  new  church  in  Santa  Isabel.  The  North  Caro¬ 
lina  Woman’s  Board  sent  over  three  hundred  dollars  toward  the  building  of  a 
chapel  at  Salinas  Playa,  the  village  by  the  sea,  near  Salinas  proper,  which 
Miss  Williams  loved  so  well  and  where  she  was  doing  effective  work.  It  is  our 
hope  to  have  this  building  erected  soon  as  a  permanent  memorial  to  her  life 
and  work  and  additional  funds  are  being  received  from  individuals  for  that 
purpose.  In  this  one  year,  1924,  missionary  societies  in  the  States  sent  more 
than  four  hundred  garments  for  the  industrial  work. 

Miss  Rosina  Lawrence,  a  graduate  of  Defiance,  spent  the  winter  of  1924 


Nineteen 


and  1925  teaching  in  the  Salinas  public  schools  and  was  just  beginning  to 
render  very  effective  assistance,  first  to  Miss  Williams  and  later  to  the 
Mortons  when  illness  forced  her  to  return  home.  Mr.  Romero  finished  his 
course  at  the  Seminary,  and  with  his  bride  took  up  work  at  Penuelas  in 
February.  In  June  he  organized  a  church  with  twenty-five  charter  members. 
He  and  Mr.  Ojeda  were  ordained  in  September.  Kindergartens  were  conducted 
at  both  Salinas  and  Ponce  and  in  the  summer  a  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School 
at  each  place.  An  interesting  item  is  the  long  journey  Miss  Williams  took 
afoot  over  the  mountains  toward  Aibonito,  the  home  of  Mrs.  Snyder.  She  did 
not  think  it  would  be  far,  but  was  forced  to  remain  in  a  mountain  hut  over 
night  and  reached  her  destination  next  day  foot-sore  and  weary,  but  with  in¬ 
formation  that  our  work  for  which  we  as  a  church  are  responsible  has  not  yet 
been  even  partially  covered. 

Soon  after  the  first  of  the  year  1925  Miss  Williams,  who  had  made  a 
constant  struggle  against  illness  was  forced  to  come  home.  The  story  of  her 


The  F#or  Neigliliorliood  Hou.se  at  Salinas  with  some 
of  our  workers. 


recent  home  going  already  recounted  in  these  pages  is  familiar  to  most  of  our 
people.  The  Barretts  and  Moi'tons  had  much  sickness,  but  in  spite  of  it  all  the 
work  moved  forward.  The  Mortons  took  up  their  station  at  Santa  Isabel  and 
have  been  doing  some  splendid  things.  They  have  continued  to  handle  the 
books  of  the  Treasurer.  They  have  taken  over  the  direction  of  the  Industrial 
work  and  launched  a  successful  kindergarten  and  a  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
School.  Mr.  Barrett  has  given  much  time  to  assisting  in  various  parts  of  our 
entire  field.  Mrs.  Barrett  continues  to  handle  part  of  the  needle  work  at  Ponce. 


Twenty 


The  Arus  property  before  mentioned  was  acquired  during  the  year.  Other 
property  additions  were  held  up  by  inability  to  secure  clear  title  but  additions 
are  to  be  made  soon.  The  Warren,  Indiana,  church  presented  the  Board  at  its 
October  meeting  with  a  fund  of  eight  hundred  dollars  to  build  and  equip  a 
chapel  in  one  of  our  outposts. 

Something  of  the  progress  of  the  work  may  be  seen  from  the  brief  com¬ 
parison  of  statistics  for  1905  and  1925  given  at  the  close  of  this  sketch. 
Figures,  of  course,  do  not  tell  all,  but  they  do  help  us  to  see  the  decided  trend 
upward  which  our  work  in  Porto  Rico  is  taking.  In  the  immediate  future  we 
hope  to  see  other  steps  taken  in  securing  more  property,  training  national 
helpers  and  the  addition  of  one  or  two  more  missionaries  to  the  force.  We 
must  keep  on  lengthening  our  cords  and  strengthening  our  stakes.  May  the 
years  ahead  be  years  of  increasing  fruitfulness  until  Porto  Rico— Rich  Port — 
may  be  rich  not  only  in  its  marvelous  natural  setting,  but  rich  also  in  the 
fulness  of  its  spiritual  life. 


A  Comparison 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  PORTO  RICO 


1905 

1925 

Missionaries  . 

...  4 

4* 

National  Workers  . 

...  3 

8 

Organized  Churches  . 

...  5 

6 

Outposts  . 

...  17 

12f 

Kindergartens  . 

...  0 

2 

Daily  Vacation  Bible  Schools  . 

...  0 

3 

Church  Members  . 

...  82 

340 

Sunday-school  Enrollment  . 

...  320 

920 

Christian  Endeavor  Enrollment  . 

...  0 

236 

Industrial  Work  _  _ 

0 

3 

Total  Money  Raised  by  Churches _ 

$ 

74.50 

$  1,170.83 

Paid  on  Pastor’s  Salaries  by  National 

Church  .  _  _ 

S 

0.00 

$  507.00 

Appropriation  for  Year  _ 

$4,000.00 

$13,896.00 

Property  Valuation  _ 

0.00 

$50,000.00 

*The  1905  report  includes  the  Barretts,  Miss  Mishler  and  Mr.  White.  The 
1925  report  includes  the  Barrets,  and  the  Mortons.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  ana 
Mrs.  Martin  have  given  fifteen  months  of  service  and  Miss  Williams  more  than 
ten  years  in  Porto  Rico. 

fin  1905  the  report  of  outposts  included  all  towns  where  preaching  serv¬ 
ices  were  held,  regardless  of  whether  they  were  held  in  a  rented  hall  or  in  the 
open  air.  The  1925  report  includes  under  the  head  of  outposts  only  those 
where  we  rent  a  hall  for  regular  services. 


Twenty-one 


Dates  of  Interest 

1901 —  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  P.  Barrett  sailed  as  our  first  missionaries 
to  Porto  Rico,  accompanied  by  Rev.  H.  J.  Rhodes.  Reached 
Ponce  January  18.  First  public  service  Easter  Sunday. 

1902 —  Rev.  T.  E.  White  and  Miss  Jennie  Mishler  reached  Ponce  for 
missionary  service  January  18. 

1903 —  First  church  organized  in  Ponce,  February  22. 

1906 —  Porto  Rico  Christian  Conference  organized,  February  27. 

1907 —  Foreign  Mission  Secretary  Bishop  visited  Porto  Rico. 

1908 —  New  church  at  Salinas  dedicated,  February. 

1910 —  Corner  lot  and  house  secured  at  Santa  Isabel. 

1911 —  Miss  Mishler  opens  dispensary  in  Santa  Isabel,  July  first; 
Mr.  Barrett  extends  it  to  Salinas.  Chapel  at  Arus  dedicated. 

1912 —  Foreign  Mission  Secretary  Morrill  visited  the  island  to  let 
the  contract  for  Ponce  church. 

1913 —  Ponce  Church  dedicated  February  23,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  F. 
Burnett  being  present. 

1915 —  Miss  Williams  sailed  for  missionary  service  in  Porto  Rico, 
January  23. 

1916 —  Representatives  of  Christian  Church  attend  Panama  Con¬ 
gress  on  Latin  America;  Dr.  Morrill  and  Mr.  Barrett  go  on 
to  Regional  Conference  in  San  Juan,  where  Evangelical 
Union  of  Porto  Rico  is  launched. 

1917 —  Mission  Home  in  Ponce  bought,  and  chapel  at  Canas  erected. 
Porto  Rico  votes  dry  by  38,000. 

1920 —  The  Martins  sailed  for  missionary  seiwice  February  28; 
four  young  men  from  Porto  Rico  enter  our  colleges.  Six 
denominations,  the  Christian  Church  included,  united  in 
publishing  the  Porto  Rico  Evangelico. 

1921 —  Miss  Williams  began  her  work  in  Salinas;  Mr.  Martin  com¬ 
pelled  to  come  home  because  of  Mrs.  Martin’s  illness;  parson¬ 
age  at  Salinas  purchased.  Foreign  Mission  Secretary  Min¬ 
ton  and  Dr.  J.  O.  Atkinson  visit  Porto  Rico.  New  system  of 
self-support  successfully  launched. 

1923 —  Miss  Williams  held  first  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School.  Santa 
Isabel  Church  dedicated.  The  Mortons  and  Victor  Rivera 
sail  in  September. 

1924 —  Foor  Neighborhood  House  in  Salinas  purchased.  Two  lots 
in  Ponce  suburb  purchased  with  proceeds  of  Industrial  Work 
and  other  gifts. 

1925 —  Miss  Williams  forced  to  come  home.  Parsonage  at  Arus 
purchased.  Miss  Williams  passed  away  at  Lakemont,  N.  Y., 
November  16. 

1926 —  Christian  Church  observes  completion  of  a  quarter  century 
of  ministry  for  Christ  in  Porto  Rico. 


Twenty-two 


An  outpost  rented  preaching  place.  Dr.  J.  O.  Atkin¬ 
son  in  white  suit  at  center;  Rev.  Ojeda  to  his  left; 
Rev.  \V.  II.  Martin  wearing  straw  hat;  Rev.  Sandoval 
to  his  left  and  Rev.  Romero  to  his  right. 


INDEX 

First  mention  only  of  missionaries,  national  workers,  and  churches  are 
given  here.  VII;!  ., 

Missionaries — 

Barretts,  5;  Mr.  Rhodes,  5;  Mi’.  White,  6?  Miss  Mishler,  6;  Miss  Williams, 
10;  Martins,  14;  Mortons,  18. 

National  Workers — 

Mr.  Hernandez,  6;  Mr.  Martinez,  7;  Mr.  Roman,  8;  Mr.  Romero,  9;  Mr. 
Rodriguez,  12;  Dona  Delfina  Zayas,  12;  Mr.  Sandoval,  12;  Mr.  Rivera,  14; 
Miss  Vasquez,  16;  Mr.  Ojeda,  16. 

Church  Organizations — 

Ponce,  6;  Arus,  6;  Santa  Isabel,  6;  Salinas,  6;  Arus  Playita,  12; 
Penuelas,  19. 

Property — 

Salinas  Church,  8;  parsonage,  16;  Foor  Mission  Home,  19;  Manzanilla 
Chapel,  8;  Santa  Isabel  lot,  9;  Canas  Chapel,  12;  Santa  Isabel  Church,  18; 
Ponce  Church,  10  and  12;  Ponce  Mission  Home,  12;  Clausells  lot,  19;  Arus 
lot  and  chapel,  8  and  9;  Parsonage,  20. 

Interdenominational  Work — 

5,  12,  13. 

Types  of  Work  Other  Than  Evangelistic — 

Dispensary,  9;  Industrial  Work,  16,  18,  19,  20;  Kindergartens,  16,  17,  20; 
Daily  Vacation  Bible  School,  18,  19. 


Twenty-three 


Some  of  our  workers  in  Porto  Rieo.  Front  row, 
left  to  right,  Dona  Dellinn  Ziiyns,  Mrs.  Morton,  Pe<lro 
Roman.  Baek  row,  left  to  right.  Rev.  A.  Ojeda,  Mr. 
Barrett,  Miss  Williams,  Vietor  Rivera,  Rev.  Juan 
Romero,  anil  Rev.  R.  Sandoval.  Mr.  Morton  took  the 
picture.  Mrs.  Barrett  is  absent. 


The  Christian  Church 

Foreign  Mission  Department 

W.  P.  Minton,  Secretary 


C.  P.  A.  Bldg. 


Dayton,  Ohio 


